Gem State Wire

There were 42 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending Dec. 25, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 319 deaths in the state. 19.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.3 percent were from cancer and 27.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Heart disease	63	57
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	52	66
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	41
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	15
Alzheimer's disease	14	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	12	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	30	31